Rock drilling mechanism



June 1, 1937.

M. A. PALMER ET AL ROCK DRILLING MECHANISM Filed July 1, 1936 n=n A I 71067712); MHEK A. PALME e 6 I y/Wm a 3% 602 771251.:

Patented June 1, 1937 UNITED STATES ROCK DRILLING MECIIANISM Mark A.Palmer and Mark A. Palmer, Jr., I

' Graniteville, Mass.

Application July 1, 1936, Serial No. 88,321

9 Claims. (ewe- 91i This invention relates to the art of rock drillingand more particularly to a new and improved device for laying andremoving the dust formed in the drilling operation. It is Well knownthat such dust if allowed freely to escape so contaminates the air asseriously to affect the health of the operator. Various devices havebeen proposed to allay this trouble some of which use water spray forlaying the dust and washing it away. The primary object of our inventionis the production of an improved and relatively simple and moreconvenient device for this purpose.

The invention is particularly applicable to the drilling of granitewherein large slabs are removed from'the main rock body by drilling andwedging. In such operations a mark is drawn along the line on which thestone is to be split, holes are drilled into the rock along this lineand wedges are then driven in to split off the slab along this line. Ourinvention embodies a ring-like member adapted to rest on the rock and bemoved freely along this line. The member has a centrally disposedopening for receiving the drill bit and is cored out to provide a waterchamber disposed around the bit. A hose connection to and spray holesfrom the chamber provide for such application of water to the hole beingdrilled as to allay and wash away the dust as it is formed and withoutpermitting its escape into the air. The spray is preferably directeddownwardly into the hole being drilled and the member is "preferablyprovided with means for spacing it from the rock whereby permitting thewash water to escape. Further features of the invention reside in theemployment of a bushing within the ring-like member for taking the wearof the drill, this bushing being removable and replaceable, and in ananti-splash unit of rubber or like flexible material surrounding thedrill bit adjacent to the outer face of the member whereby to preventupward splashing of the water as the hole is being drilled.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood andappreciated from a pre-' 45 ferred embodiment thereof, selected forpurposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing in which,

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a rock drill employing the dust laying andremoving device of our in- 50 vention,

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the device, Fig. 3 is a fragmentarysectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of a rock 5 being dri Fig; 5 is a viewlike Fig. 3, but showing a modified construction.

In the drawing It) indicates a pneumatic drill of standard constructionhaving a handle I2 anda bit-receiving socket l4. A bit l6 carried in thesocket is pneumatically vibrated longitudinally by the drill in theusual manner and may be manually rotated by a handle l8.

The dust laying and removing device of our invention consists of aring-like member 20 hav- 0 ing a drill-receiving hole 22 therethroughand" core'd'out at 24 to provide a water reservoir I or chamber, themember preferably being of annular construction and the water chamberpreferably being continuous. Water is provided to 5 the chamber througha hose 26 and hose conmotion 28. In use the member rests on therockbeing drilled and the bit is projected therethrough as shown in thedrawing.:-The' impacts of the bit reduce the rock to dust form therebyforming 6 the hole 30. The object'of the invention is to pre-' vent theescape of this dust into the air and such object is accomplished byrelatively fine sprays through perforations 32'extending into the cham-'ber 24, these perforations preferably being di-' 5 rected inwardly anddownwardly whereby to project sprays into the hole being formed. Lugs 34are also preferably provided on the member whereby to space the samefrom the rock and permitthe wash water and dust contents to flow 30freely from the hole.

In Fig; 4 we have illustrated in fragmentary plan view a rock 36'wherein a slab 38 is being split therefrom in accordance with thepractice in granite quarries. A line 40 is drawn on the 35 rock alongwhich it is desired to split and a series of holes 42 is then drilled inspaced relation along this line, the slab thereafter being split off bywedges driven in on theline. Our invention is particularly applicable towork of this 40 nature, since its use simply requires that the member2!! shall rest loosely on the rock, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4. Theoperator places the drill bit "5 through the opening 22 and in contactwith the point on'the line 40 whereit 45 is desired to drill a hole 42.After the completion of each hole, the operator merely withdraws thedrill from the hole and, without withdraw ing the drill from the opening22, he moves the member 20 to the next position, continuing thus alongthe line until the series ofh'oles has been completed. It will be quiteapparent'that such operation is extremely simple andrapid.

While the drillingis in progressywater under pressure'is flowed into thechamber 24 and outwardly through the perforations 32 and, since theseperforations are directed downwardly toward the center of the hole, thedust formed by the drilling is laid as it is formed and immediatelyremoved by the water overflow from thehole; the spacing of the memberfrom the rock by means of the lugs 34 facilitating this overflow.Attention is particularly called to the fact that the member 20 iscentered by the drill bit and must therefore remain in proper positionover the hole. Also cooperating with the drill and member 20 is a unit44 surrounding the drill bit adjacent to the outer face of the member;The purpose of this unit is to prevent upward splashing of the water dueto the impacts of the drill. The unit is preferably made of resilientmaterial whereby causing close and elastic engagement thereof with thedrill bit.

In Fig. 5 we have illustrated a modified form of our invention which maybe preferable under some conditions. The member 50 of this form issimilar to the member 20 except that it includes a removable bushing 52seated within the central opening through the member 50. An annularchannel 53 is provided within this opening and .is in communication withthe chamber 54 through a plurality of ports 56. The bottom end of thebushing is provided with a plurality of spray holes 58 which are incommunication with the channel 53 in all rotary positions of thebushing. The-bushing may serve various purposes among which isparticularly mentioned the convenient and economical substitution of anew bushing, without requiring a new member 50, when the bushing hasbecome worn by the action of the drill therein. The spray holes and themember 50 may also bevery easily cleaned by removing the bushing andcleaning the bushing and memberseparately.

It'will be apparent that the device comprising the invention may beconstructed in one piece as illustrated in Figs. 1-3, or-in a pluralityof pieces as illustrated in Fig. 5. In either case however theelements20 :and 50 are preferably of one-piece construction and may be convenienly and economicaly formed as a casting. The chambers 24 and 54 arepreferably relatively large and continuouswhereby to contain an amplesupply of water and feed the same uniformly to the sprayperforations.The large and continuous chambers 24 and 54 furthermoreeliminatepossible clogging of the water supply and facilitate thecleaning of the chamber and the openings'thereinto. Such cleaning may befurther facilitated by additional holes 46 into the chamber, andnormally closed by plugs 48. The anti-splash unit may be constructed toengage the'bit. the members 20-50 or both. In Fig. 5 the unit is in theform of a hood 60 and engages both the bit and'member 50. The upperportion of this unit is preferablyshaped to have line contact with thebit at one or more places instead of having a surface contact therewith,thus facilitating movement of the bit therethrough. The flexibility ofthe unit 60 permits considerable impact movement of the bit withoutrequiring any relative movement of the bit at the lines of contact. Itshould now be apparent that we have produced a relatively simple andimproved apparatus of the nature and for the purpose described.

It will be 'understood'that'the granite formations are such that thesplitting-off plane 40 may be vertical, horizontal or at any angletherebetween. In all cases the pneumatic vibrations tion "of the hose 26(Fig. 2).

wear through into the chamber 24 and destroy the device. When drillingon surfaces relatively angular to the horizontal, the member 20 rests onthe drill and the wearing movement is between the drill'and the wall ofthe opening 22. The chattering movement of the member in such casescauses heavy wearing away of the portion of this wall located above thepoint of connec- The provision of a plurality of holes 46 into thechamber 24 provides for connecting the hose at different positionsaround the member whereby changing itsposition of support on the drill.The useful life of the device is thereby lengthened and the annularconfiguration of the opening 22 more nearly maintained.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A dust laying and removing device for use with rock drills,comprising a ring-like member including a bushing having adrill-receiving opening therethrough and a portion supporting thebushing and having its interior cored to provide a water chamberextending about the opening, the bushing having a plurality ofrelatively small spray holes positioned to direct'water jets into theopening and said portion having port communication from said chamber tosaid holes, and a hose connection to the chamber.

2. 'A dust laying and removing device for use with rock drills,comprising a ring-like member including a bushing having adrill-receiving opening therethrough a portion supporting the bushingand having its interior cored to provide a water chamber extending aboutthe opening, the bushing having a plurality of relatively small sprayholes positioned to direct water jets into the opening and said portionhaving port communication from said chamber to said holes and includingan annular channel at the junction of the bushing with said portion, anda hose connection to the chamber.

3. In a rock drilling device, a ring-like member having adrill-receiving opening through the center thereof and having itsinterior coredto provide a water chamber extending about the opening,the member having water communication from the chamber to theopening'and including a plurality of relatively small spray holesarranged to direct water jets inwardly of said opening, a hoseconnection to the chamber, 'a drill bit extending into the opening,andanantisplash unit surrounding the bit adjacent to the outer face ofthe member.

4. In a rock drilling device, a ring-like member having adrill-receiving opening through the center thereof and having itsinterior cored to provide a water chamber extending about the opening,the member having water communication from the chamber to the openingand including a plurality of relatively small spray holes arranged todirect water jets inwardly of said opening, a hose connection to thechamber, a

drill bit extending into the opening, and an antisplash unit surroundingthe bit and member and in fitting contact with both and providing a hoodadjacent to and covering the outer face of the member.

5. A dust laying and removing device for use with rock drills,comprising an annular member having a drill-receiving openingtherethrough and having its interior cored to provide a relal0 tivelylarge water chamber extending about the opening, three or morerelatively spaced lugs carried by and projecting beyond one face of themember in position independently to support the member on and in spacedrelation to a rock to be drilled, the member having Water communicationfrom the chamber to the opening and including a plurality of relativelysmall spray holes arranged to direct Water jets from the chamberinwardly of the opening and outwardly of one end thereof and of saidface of the member, said lugs being adapted to support the memberindependently of the drill and said opening being adapted to receive thedrill loosely therethrough while the member is thus supported, and ahose connection to the chamber.

6. A dust laying and removing device for use with rock drills,comprising an annular member having an opening therethrough and having ahollow interior providing a Water chamber extending about the opening,the member having water communication from the chamber to the openingand including a plurality of relatively small spray holes in position todirect water jets from the chamber inwardly of the opening,

means carried by the member and extending a relatively short distancebeyond one face thereof for independently supporting the member on andin spaced relation to a rock to be drilled, said means being adapted tosupport the member independently of the drill and said opening beingadapted to receive the drill loosely therethrough while the member isthus supported, and a hose connection to the chamber.

7. A dust laying and removing device for use with rock drills,comprising an annular memberhaving a drill-receiving opening through thecenter thereof and having its interior cored to provide a relativelylarge and continuous water chamber surrounding the opening, three ormore relatively spaced lugs carried by the member and projecting beyondone face thereof a distance less than the thickness of the member andadapted to support the member in spaced relation on a rock to bedrilled, the member having water communication from the chamber to theopening and including a plurality of relatively small spray holes inposition to direct water jets from the chamber inwardly of said opening,said lugs being adapted to support the member independently of the drilland said opening being adapted to receive the drill loosely therethroughwhile the member is thus supported, and a hose connection to thechamber.

8. A dust laying and removing device for use with rock drills,comprising a substantially annular member having a drill-receivingopening therethrough and having its interior cored to provide a waterchamber extending about the opening, the member having watercommunication from the chamber to the opening and including a pluralityof relatively small spray holes in position to direct water jets fromthe chamber inwardly of the opening, and a hose connection to thechamber, the member being adapted to hang loosely on a substantiallyhorizontal drill adjacent to the bore hole of a rock being drilled withthe hose connection lowermost and the drill extending through saidopening, whereby to wash the rock dust away as it is formed in thedrilling operation.

9. The device defined in claim 8 wherein said member has a plurality ofhose connection holes in relatively spaced relation through its outerwall and extending into the chamber, and removable plugs filling saidholes.

MARK A. PALMER. MARK A. PALMER, JR.

